KLEIN KAROO & GARDEN ROUTE

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The Retreat at Groenfontein

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence...

The Retreat is a Victorian farmhouse set in 560ha of the beautiful Groenfontein Valley Conservancy, bordering on the 129 000ha Swartberg Nature Reserve. The house, filled with yellow-wood and mellow Oregon pine, has a lounge and dining room - each with its own ceramic fireplace to keep them cosy on chilly winter evenings - leading onto a wide verandah, overlooking the sweeping gardens and majestic Swartberg mountains.

The meals at Groenfontein have a health emphasis, vegetarians are welcome and we cater for problem diets. Our Guests can enjoy Karoo lamb dishes and local Cape specialties. Meals are served under the stars on the veranda in the summer or in the beautiful dining room, with a crackling fire, during the cold winter evenings.

The Retreat has a full liquor licence and carries a selection of fine wines of the region.

Our Rooms

There are two suites and two garden rooms away from the house with breathtaking views of the mountains from their private terraces, and 4 comfortable en-suite bedrooms in the main house, with French doors opening onto a patio.

This lovely home has 2 garden family suites in the old milking-shed and 2 garden rooms in the converted weaving-shed, all with spectacular views of the mountains, king-size beds which can be made up as twins, sitting-areas by a fireplace, 3 with Victorian bath and shower, the smaller with only shower, the 2 suites have an extra room with 2 single beds.

We have 1 cosy standard room in a converted buttery/creamery, with king-size bed, fireplace and shower and 3 comfortable standard en-suite bedrooms in the main Victorian house with French doors leading onto a patio. The guest-lounge and dining-room in the house, each with a fireplace, lead onto the verandah overlooking the sweeping gardens and majestic Swartberg.

Here, there is no cellphone reception so the tranquility is unbroken by loud conversations that command attention. Likewise, there are no TV sets blaring forth from guest rooms to disturb the peace (we do have TV in the main lounge, mainly to entertain young children with suitable DVDs while their parents are enjoying dinner). We operate on solar power plus generator backup, so no inconvenient power-outs! It does mean there are no fridges or kettles in the rooms but we supply ice, cold drinks, tea and coffee on request. It also means that we have limited cooling systems - ceiling-fans only in the 4 garden rooms, but our 'micro-climate' and location in the mountains produces a prevailing coolth by late evening which makes sleeping comfortable - and windows can be thrown wide open because we have no mosquitoes.

Enjoy energetic hill walks or mountain biking in the clear air - or lazy summer afternoons cooling off in the shady, secluded rock pools that sparkle like jewels along the length of the tree-fringed river - or simply stroll along the peaceful, winding lanes of the Groenfontein Valley.